A Graceful Raconteur

In the song "Little Colored Balloons," singer John Murry ticks off the supplies he used to carry, cook and shoot heroin: Saran wrap, balloons, needle, spoon. As the music builds, he bellows the location of a San Francisco flophouse—"on 16th and Mission"—where he overdosed and nearly died.

The song, written and recorded within days of the incident he says occurred six years ago, exposes the rawest nerve on a debut album riddled with them. "The Graceless Age," set for a U.S. release Tuesday,...